YouTube-starring Vancouver Aquarium sea otter dies
Graeme Wood, Vancouver Sun
Published: Tuesday, September 23, 2008
VANCOUVER - The Vancouver Aquarium said Tuesday one of its most popular animals has died.

Nyac, a 20 year-old sea otter, was a survivor and symbol of the infamous 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill off Alaska.

She died of leukemia after being monitored closely since July, when her health began to deteriorate.

Nyac, the 20 year old female sea otter at the Vancouver Aquarium that starred in a YouTube video.

At six months old and too weak to be released into the wild after the spill, she came to the aquarium after being rescued by aquarium staff.

At age 20, she was one of the longest-surviving otters in captivity.

Nyac was often seen floating on her back nibbling food between her paws. Her agile movements and splashy attitude won the hearts of visitors and staff at the aquarium.

"Having survived such a traumatic event and overcoming incredible odds at such a young age, her life has been an amazing journey for all of us to share," said Clint Wright, senior vice-president of aquarium operations and planning.

According to the aquarium, Nyac was the only known survivor of the Exxon Valdez oil spill to have successfully had a pup in an aquarium: a female named Kipnuk born in 1993, which was sent to an aquarium in Belgium.

The aquarium said Nyac's life will continue to provide vital information on the long-term effects of oil exposure.

Sea otters depend heavily on their fur to keep warm and oil causes the fur to lose its buoyancy and insulating capacity. The Valdez oil spill killed about 5,000 sea otters.

Sea otters in B.C. are a threatened species under Canada's Species at Risk Act. B.C.'s sea otter population is 3,200 and growing.

Since 2007, a video documenting the playful nature of Nyac and her companion Milo has been seen by over 11 million viewers after it was posted on Youtube.com by Cynthia Holmes, a visitor to the Vancouver Aquarium. Ms. Holmes graciously donated the video to the organization in 2007.

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TeamCoachellaHellYeah

09-24-2008, 04:13 PM

:( *tear*

CalmerThanYou

09-24-2008, 04:20 PM

While America is facing its ultimate economic demise, this is top news in Canada...

TeamCoachellaHellYeah

09-24-2008, 04:24 PM

If America goes...so does Canada...

boarderwoozel3

09-24-2008, 04:31 PM

this sucks

TeamCoachellaHellYeah

09-24-2008, 04:32 PM

there will be no escaping the fall out....cept in the arctic maybe.

M Sparks

09-24-2008, 05:00 PM

I saw an otter fellate himself at the Oregon Zoo.

BROKENDOLL

09-24-2008, 05:01 PM

Pass the tissue, please. Wow Huntergather is gonna be crushed...

BROKENDOLL

09-24-2008, 05:02 PM

Tears of sorrow just became tears of laughter thanks to MSparks avatar...

sames44

09-24-2008, 05:05 PM

no shit - nicely done, MSparks

M Sparks

09-24-2008, 05:21 PM

no shit - nicely done, MSparks

Oh thanks, it looked better before I shrank it.

Anyway...Otter masturbation...

http://i529.photobucket.com/albums/dd333/marc242/P1010997.jpg

gaypalmsprings

09-24-2008, 05:32 PM

I thought an otter was a skinny gay hairy guy.

M Sparks

09-24-2008, 06:10 PM

At age 20, she was one of the longest-surviving otters in captivity.

Wow, and today you turn 20, Josh. Kinda makes you reflect, eh?

HunterGather

09-24-2008, 06:16 PM

thats the video i used in the first post of the AWWWWW EPIC CUTENESS THREAD

:(

thats sad

HunterGather

09-24-2008, 06:17 PM

Pass the tissue, please. Wow Huntergather is gonna be crushed...

damn straight

rskapcat

09-24-2008, 09:23 PM

That's depressing. Though I'm sure 20 years is a fairly long life for an otter.

Pixiessp

09-24-2008, 10:07 PM

not this otter!!!!! sadness.

cansei de ser sexme

09-24-2008, 10:08 PM

Oil spills are otterly unacceptable.

MissingPerson

09-25-2008, 06:35 AM

Once more, love for the tags. Now, whenever I need to find "Otter Mourning" in a hurry, it'll be no problem.

marooko

09-25-2008, 08:16 AM

da otter 1 is still alive, you otter know <------these are some awesome tags!!!!!!